What 250 Articles Taught Me About Why Capable Managers Get Stuck

When I started writing this blog in 2020, I had no idea what would come of it. The original purpose was simple: get my thoughts out of my head and onto the page, shape and test ideas as I built out the frameworks that would eventually become the backbone of my work. I wanted to share what I was learning about leadership, performance, and avoiding burnout, and I set myself the challenge of doing it every week.

At the start, I wasn't sure anyone would read it. I wasn't even sure I'd keep going. But here we are, 250 blogs later. That's 250 weeks of showing up, wrestling with ideas, and sharing them with all of you. What started as a personal experiment has grown into something much bigger — nearly 4,000 people now read this digest of my thinking every week across various platforms. That number still surprises me.

The Power of Connection

What keeps me going isn't the numbers. It's the messages I receive from readers. Every time someone tells me that a single idea helped them, or that a post landed at the right moment, it makes the hours spent writing more than worth it. The best feedback is when someone says, "It's like you were inside my head." That's the goal — to be there, poking around, moving wires, helping people see things differently, and maybe helping solve problems they didn't know they had.

Behind the Scenes

There's a lot more to this blog than meets the eye. Each post takes a couple of hours to write, but for every blog that makes it to publication, there are probably ten half-written drafts, abandoned ideas, or concepts that didn't quite land. I'm constantly shifting my thinking, testing new models, and looking for better ways to explain things. Over the years, the frameworks and metaphors that make up the Simplify to Amplify methodology have evolved and matured. If you've been reading for a while, you'll know I'm always searching for practical ways to make leadership simpler, more human, and more effective.

One of the things that's helped me stay consistent is a small exercise I call PVC — Purpose, Value, and Capacity. Every so often, especially when things get challenging in the business, I sit down and revisit my purpose for writing. Why am I doing this? What value does it bring to readers? Do I have the capacity to keep going at the level I want? That reflection has kept me grounded and motivated, even when the business has thrown up its fair share of challenges.

The Discipline of Weekly Writing

There have been times when it's been tough to keep the streak alive. I've written blogs from hotel rooms, airport lounges, and the occasional hospital bed. There have been weeks when I've been sick, travelling, or dealing with technical problems. Sometimes life gets in the way. But I try to write ahead whenever I can, so readers never notice. The goal is to make sure that, whatever is happening behind the scenes, something useful and thought-provoking gets published every week.

Tuesday mornings have become a kind of ritual — a moment to sit down, reflect, and work out what matters most right now. It's a chance to pause, take stock, and share what I'm seeing, hearing, and learning from the leaders and teams I work with. Sometimes the ideas come easily; other times, it's a slog. But every week, without fail, I find something worth sharing.

Evolution and Growth

Looking back over 250 blogs, I'm struck by how much my thinking has changed. The early posts were rough around the edges, more stream-of-consciousness than structured argument. Over time, the writing has become more focused, the ideas sharper, and the frameworks more robust. The Simplify to Amplify methodology, which started as a collection of metaphors and practical tips, has become a fully-fledged approach to leadership and performance, shaped by reader feedback, questions, and challenges.

A Conversation, Not a Monologue

This blog isn't a platform for broadcasting my ideas. It's a conversation. Comments, emails, and stories from readers have helped me see things from new angles and pushed me to go deeper. Readers have challenged my assumptions, called out my blind spots, and kept me learning.

Looking Forward

To the readers, the thinkers, the leaders who keep this blog alive — whether you've been here since the early days or you're new to it, you're the reason I keep coming back to the keyboard every week. Thank you for showing up, for engaging, and for letting these ideas into your world.

Here's to the next 250 blogs, and to all the conversations, challenges, and breakthroughs still to come.

If this sounds like your week

Your managers are not the problem. They are where the problem is stuck.

When your last leadership spend was signed off, did anyone go back to those managers' bosses and ask what changed? That question is the JBL Outcome Standard, and it is how I work.

• Find the friction. A short diagnostic that shows which decisions are stalling, and at what level.
• Am I the bottleneck? Ten questions on where your week is actually going.
• How I work with GMs. Six weeks, one hour a week, up to twelve of your managers, scored by their own bosses.
• Beat Burnout, Boost Performance. The book.
• The High Performance Leader podcast.

Managers I work with reclaim around four hours a week, and their bosses score the change 8.75 out of 10. Would it be a crazy idea to find out how we did this? Book a scoping call.